


Lost

by janiejanine



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 15:31:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1653602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janiejanine/pseuds/janiejanine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mission accomplished--until it isn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost

The building belched flame and collapsed with a muffled  _boom_.

Mission accomplished. Shepard allowed herself a satisfied grin as she and Alenko turned their backs on the fiery ruin.

The rendezvous point was several klicks away. If the other teams had done their jobs, the batarian pirates in this sector would be down three hiding places, and the brand-new crew of the  _Normandy_ would be up one successful first mission.

It was tough going. Outside was a wall of white. The snow was blowing almost sideways, the wind stealing her breath and stinging her eyes. The best way to cope with that kind of thing, she'd found, was mental paperwork--spend long enough writing up reports in her head, and she'd end up in a sort of waking coma, perfect for slogging through tedium and snowdrifts.

She started with Alenko's evaluation. She was impressed with his skill and his calm under fire.  _And his biceps_ , whispered a tiny voice in the back of her head. She swatted the voice away, irritated with herself for thinking about that now. Altogether, he kept quiet and did his job. She couldn't argue with that.

As they crested the last hill, one thing about the area struck her: there was no one there.

"What the hell?" she muttered. This had definitely not been part of the plan. "LT, check the coordinates."

He nodded. "Sir." He tapped his omni-tool, confidently at first, then with increasing agitation. "Oh, shit."

"What?"

"Comms are busted. So's the nav."

Her eyes widened as she checked her own equipment. "Mine, too. Think the explosion knocked them out?"

"No idea."

"So...we could be anywhere." So much for  _mission accomplished_.

"Looks like."

"Shit," she said.

This was not the most illustrious moment of her career.

First priority was getting out of the cold. They were dressed for the weather, but they wouldn't last indefinitely, and the only shelter in the vicinity had just gone up in flames.

Shepard squinted. In the distance, she could just barely make out a dark shape in the snow-covered rocks. "Come on," she said, and began the trudging walk towards the shape, Alenko close behind.

When they reached it ten frozen minutes later, she was relieved to see that her hunch had been right: what had looked like a smudge in the mountainside was actually the opening to a small cave, with room enough for two. Inside, it was still cold, but dry, and the shrieking of the wind was reduced to a low roar.

Her omni-tool was out of commission, but her personal distress beacon might still be functional. She dug out the small plastic cylinder and pressed the button, and was rewarded with the blinking green light of success. She held the beacon up in a gesture of triumph.

"Got yours?" she asked. "Might as well use both, just in case."

"On it," he replied, rummaging through his pockets.

"We can bunker down here until they send out an SAR." She sighed. "Our luck, we'll get eaten by cave monsters."

"Good thing I brought silver bullets."

She barked a laugh. "I'd believe it." Judging from what he'd already pulled out, he had extra  _everything_ , from energy bars to what practically amounted to an entire medkit. The man was prepared. Impressive, considering she couldn't even tell where he'd stashed it all. No one's suit had that many pockets.

She sat down on the cave floor, leaning against the wall. It would be a while before they were picked up, so they might as well make themselves as comfortable as possible. Their suits were waterproof, but the hard-packed snow was still chilly. She couldn't suppress a shiver.

Alenko slid down next to her. "Cold?"

"It was warm where I grew up."

He smiled, and for the first time she noticed the little crinkles around his eyes. "I'm from Canada. This is just like home."

"They live in caves in Canada?" she teased.

Now that she'd gotten used to it, the storm outside just sounded like white noise, almost soothing. She felt oddly sleepy.

"Nope. But caves aren't so bad. Better in here than out there."

She murmured her agreement. "I'm glad to be away from the smoke." The smell of smoke, to her, would always mean disaster. "Smells like Mindoir."

The moment the words left her mouth, she wished she could grab them out of the air and stuff them back in. How had that slipped out?

He gave her a sharp look. "You were there?"

She nodded and looked away. Something about him inspired confidence, but she didn't want to confide.

He didn't press. He must have gotten the hint.

She shivered in silence.

When his voice broke the quiet, she jumped. "You can, uh, lean on me. For warmth. If you want," he said, sounding just a bit uncertain.

He  _did_ look warm. Her teeth chattered.

What the hell. She moved closer, her hip nudging his. He wrapped his arm around her ( _biceps!_  trilled the little voice in her head) and she snuggled into his side. It was nice, she thought, being close to another person like this, even if he was more or less a stranger. A very attractive stranger, but still.

She might as well enjoy it. Given the choice, she'd rather not die of hypothermia, and, after all, it couldn't go any further than this. It was worth taking a chance.

Despite her reservations, some small part of her hoped the rescue crew would take its time.


End file.
